


Weaker and Stronger

by Here_to_procrastinate



Series: If it had been worse [2]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Humor? somehow?, Hurt/Comfort, Law is dumb, M/M, Post-Wano Arc (One Piece), Slave Monkey D. Luffy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:27:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28073934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Here_to_procrastinate/pseuds/Here_to_procrastinate
Summary: Law and Jean Bart talk after what had happened on the Sunny.
Relationships: Monkey D. Luffy/Trafalgar D. Water Law, Trafalger D. Water Law & Jean Bart
Series: If it had been worse [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2044387
Comments: 12
Kudos: 133





	Weaker and Stronger

**Author's Note:**

> You probably need to read the first part to understand this one :D  
> Hope you like it anyway!  
> Also: Jean Bart is a Heart Pirate that was a slave before joining the crew :)

It was shortly after midnight when Law was startled up from a nightmare. The soft waves rocking the Heart Pirate’s submarine had soothed the surgeon into an uneasy sleep even though he had known that he wouldn’t like his dreams.

The pirate could feel the sweat on his forehead. He couldn’t remember the whole dream, but he knew that it had been about Straw Hat.  
Today was the first day he was back on his own ship again. He just hadn’t been able to leave the boy alone after learning about the other captain’s past.

Law knew that it was silly. Luffy had his whole crew looking after him and god, did they do a good job at that. There hadn’t been a second that the boy had less than four crew mates around him in the last three days.  
But the surgeon had also been able to see that Luffy realised what was going on. The teenager seemed to be slowly suffocating while not knowing how to reassure his crew that everything was okay. Law was pretty sure that another person on the Sunny wasn’t exactly helping Luffy feeling less cramped.

So, after three days Law had left the Sunny. His excuse to stay because Luffy needed someone to look after him, had been built on thin ice anyway. 

Law's crew had been overjoyed as their captain had shambled back into their submarine. Bepo had cried and said, “I thought you were dead!” nearly ten times.

Normally Law would have been annoyed by so much emotions, but he loved his crew. And he knew that they knew that, even though he would rather burn off his own eyebrows than tell them. And he really liked his eyebrows.

As they had sailed away from the Sunny the surgeon had already regretted his decision to leave even though he was sure that he had made the right call. He knew he wasn’t a person that was good at comforting. But three days ago, he had - for the first time in his life - wished he were one. He didn’t know when he had last felt so much pain as he had at seeing his ally deflate completely.

Rubbing his eyes Law got up from his bunk. He was sure he wouldn’t be able to sleep anymore so why not get a drink?

The lounge of the Heart Pirates submarine was empty as Law sat down on a leather sofa in the middle of the room. He had found an old whiskey in the kitchen but no glass. Shachi must have forgotten to do the dishes. 

He would scold him tomorrow Law decided as he leaned back and took a swing of whiskey. The surgeon grimaced. How could people drink this stuff every day? Maybe pirate hadn’t been his calling after all.

Law's thoughts wandered back to his dream that had been mostly about people hurting a young Luffy. It had been awful. Why couldn’t his brain leave him alone for one night? The surgeon took another swing. Still nasty.

“Oi, captain.”

The surgeon opened his eyes. In front of him stood Jean Bart. Law grunted to show that he listened.

“Why are you still awake, captain?”

Law closed his eyes again.

“Could ask you the same.”

“Yes.”

Bart sat down next to Law. The man wasn’t a big talker, so the surgeon didn’t particularly mind. He offered the whiskey to his crew mate.  
After they drank in silence for some time, Bart started talking.

“Bad dream?”

“Mhm. You?”

It was quiet for a minute again.

“I was worried about you.”

Law opened his eyes once again but didn’t say anything.

“You weren’t yourself today.”

“Don’t know what you mean.”

Bart sighed.

“Okay, cap.”

They drank in silence for a few minutes.

“You didn’t tell me.”

Bart gave his captain a questioning look.

“After Marineford you were the one dressing Mugiwara-ya.”

Now the man seemed to realise what Law meant, but he only shrugged.

“Wasn’t mine to tell. I know what it’s like. And I know that at least the world government doesn’t seem to know. Otherwise, it would say so on his wanted poster. And you didn’t need to know. So… no reason to tell you.”

“... understandable.”

“How did you find out?”

Law took another swing of whiskey.

“Surgery.”

“…did his crew find out too? Or did they know already?”

“No. They didn’t know.”

It got silent once again.

“That’s why you were so down today?”

Law sighed.

“Among other things…”

Bart smirked at the theatrics of his captain.

“You really care about him, huh?”

“Hard not to care about Mugiwara-ya if you get to know him.”

The man beside the surgeon seemed to contemplate for a moment.

“Doesn’t happen often.”

“What.”

“You caring about someone beside your crew. He must be special.”

At that Law felt himself smile a little.

“Yes. Yes, he is.”

Bart blinked and then seemed to realise something.

“Do you like… you know like like…”

Law gave his crewmate a side glance.

“Please tell me that you’re not about to ask me if I ‘like like’ Mugiwara-ya.”

The large man turned red.

“…no, I wasn’t… but do you?”

Law felt his ears burn. He must have drank more than he had thought.

“Possibly.”

“So that’s the other reason you’re so down?”

Law chuckled.

“Do you think that I have so little of a chance that I am heartbroken before I even try anything?”

“No. But you always run when there are too many emotions involved.”

The surgeon gave Bart a glare.

“…it’s never good. Everyone I ever loved died.”

“So now you already love him?”, Bart smirked before getting serious again.

Law knew that not only his ears were burning anymore.

“But really captain, I think you give yourself too much credit.”

“Huh?”

“If Straw Hat dies it’s because of something that he decides is worth dying for. He would be offended if someone said it was anyone else’s decision. Or fault.”

Law knew his crew mate was right, but he still didn’t want to hear it. So, he drank whiskey and closed his eyes again.

“Also I won’t worry to much. I saw that fight between Kaido and Straw Hat and that last hit of Kaido… Someone up there”, the man pointed his finger upwards, “must really like that boy. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have lived.”

The Heart Pirates captain smiled. Luffy really had a lot of luck. Then the smile faltered again. Or maybe he hadn’t.

“Is it bad?”

Bart waited for his captain to elaborate.

“In Mary Joa is it bad?”

“…the worst, captain.”

The silence after that sentence was painful. Both men took another swing of whiskey.

“Makes you wonder, huh?”

“What, captain?”

“He seems so… free and happy all the time. I mean… I always knew about his brother, but… I thought he had had a relatively peaceful childhood… and actually it might have been even worse than mine…”

Bart seemed to realise what Law wanted to get at.

“People react different to trauma. Doesn’t make you weaker or stronger how you react.”

“Maybe. But he is stronger than me in so much more ways than one.”

Bart didn’t say anything. Law smiled at his crew mate.

“Don’t tell the others… but I don’t think I will be the one to become Pirate King.”

The other man grinned back at his captain.

“I think you had too much to drink, cap. Come let me get you to bed.”

The surgeon stared at the empty bottle in his hand.

“Maybe you’re right.”

After he brought him to bed Bart smiled at his captain that instantly fell asleep.

“If Straw Hat can make you believe that you deserve to be happy, I really couldn’t care less who becomes Pirate King, cap.”

**Author's Note:**

> Aaaand yes, Law is just an emo. Hope you enjoyed! :D
> 
> Please let me know if that's the case and leave a comment! <3
> 
> Also: Read my other one piece fanfictions ;D


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